5 Ideas for Overcoming the Spring Slump

Are you guys feeling the spring slump? 

In the fall we start out with our shiny new books and school supplies ("bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils") and even as the weariness of the semester sets in, we welcome the refreshing colder weather and the novelty of winter holidays to bolster our excitement right up until school is out and Christmas season is fully upon us. 

Then, bleary from frenetic celebrating, we limp back into our routine for the spring semester, gaining perhaps a little enthusiasm from the occasional whitewashing of the world in snow and then, gradually, the tantalizing promise of spring, with an occasional warm day and crocuses, Japanese irises, and daffodils braving the last tantrums of winter. 

And then, we hit those weeks; when we can hardly stand the sight of yet another snow flurry and the rising winds of spring seem to be mocking our already-frozen vistas and stir-crazy hearts. The drag of trying to finish up the now-tattered books using horribly maimed pencils and notebooks seems unbearably monotonous--even nauseating. The mud from snow melt and the hideous nudity of nature that is no longer enticing with trails of frost and the promise of cozy rituals continues to drive us indoors or disgust us as we attempt to reignite our former relationship with the world outside.

Maybe I'm the only one who feels this fanciful discouragement this time of year. 

So WHAT TO DO?!?

I have five ideas: 

1.    GET OUTSIDE.

Yes, the weather is still yuck (photo above from one week ago). Yes, that means there will be mud tracked inside (Again. Or still.). Yes, that means wearing that cold-weather gear that we are SO OVER right now. But just do it. Get outside, go further than you have for the last few months, or maybe back to a stomping ground you usually reserve for warmer weather. Clean up the yard a little, or just go for a walk or run, or if it's bearable, take a picnic--but just get outside and start looking for signs of spring. I have my kids do a quick changing-season's nature study day, where we have a scavenger hunt for signs of spring, and identify clouds or plants or birds or whatever goes with what they're studying. We just finished our astronomy curriculum, so we checked out the spring constellations and noted how they were different from the fall ones we'd seen back in September. The content isn't the point here--just be willing to brave the unpredictability of spring and go outside! Bonus points if you plant something!

2.    SPRING CLEANING.

I'm a wierdo, I know; but I'm ok with it. I love organizing things, it is seriously the most therapeutic thing to me. As a child, I was often exasperatedly confronted by my mother when she  discovered I had reorganized her kitchen cabinets...again. As we see what worked or didn't work for the last school year, and our thoughts turn to finishing up, I like to putter around and purge a few things, noting for next year some thoughts about what we loved/hated/wished-we'd-tried. I pitch dead markers and other spent supplies and begin a lite-version of the school supply shopping list I'll need for next fall. I look for things for my kids to sort (this week we found a can of old pennies in Great-Grandpa's garage and Danger sorted through them to look for the ones still missing from our penny collection!) Have you ever looked at Martha Stewart Living Magazine? In the front is always a calendar of what Martha does this month to prepare for the next season, usually planning parties or gardening prep and home-care chores. I like to create a similar wishlist of things to accomplish before the end of the school year and schedule them in to my school week so that when that vacation comes I don't have a back-log of procrastinated chores waiting for me while everyone else gets to go outside and enjoy the nice weather.  If all this seems just too obnoxious, try just going through your closet and purging/switching seasons a little bit. This is one of my seasonal "rituals" and it seriously is my favorite way to transition to new seasons and get me in the mindset of the next thing.

3.      TRY SOME SEASONAL EATING.

Berries! Asparagus! Spring greens! All kinds of flavors are perking up this time of year, and sometimes it helps to consciously jar yourself out of a cooking rut to try some new (or forgotten) flavors that haven't been in season. It's also a good time to try and let your littles learn some life skills--we start with something easy like making scrambled eggs or making their own PB&J. This may be more intuitive for some people, but I am not a huge fan of cooking anyway (I'd rather be cleaning), so when I have to adjust my cooking for the new season anyway, I take the opportunity to add in a new skill-challenge for my kids, so the transition doesn't feel as jarring. Also, doing holiday-themed goodies in the spring gives lots of scope for fun kitchen learning--Valentine's Day treats with chocolate, Irish-themed hearty foods for St. Patrick's Day, dyed Easter-eggs or other Easter feast treats...there's lots of celebratory moments we can seize and turn into opportunities to grow or teach. 

4.    DO FUN SCHOOL.

As we finish up books (or realize we are just going to be continuing some of them next fall after all), sometimes we just need to step back and practice what we've learned a different way. Since we finished our Astronomy book, I'm going to do nature studies or delight-driven learning for science almost entirely to the end of the year. We've been doing a lot of grammar study and independent reading for Language Arts, so we're going to be switching to Scrabble and word games for a few days a week to get a break and work on vocabulary and spelling skills. As I've been going through my mom's homeschool stuff I've re-discovered my favorite lectures on history, social studies, or science to share with my kids--and it's been a great little adjustment to keep us excited about learning. Instead of doing two lessons in two days, we've slowed down a little to do one lesson, parts A and B so that we can also do a fun craft or extra along with the lesson...like when we were learning about Joshua and the Battle of Jericho in Old Testament History, so we watched Veggie Tales: Josh and the Big Wall instead of forging on to the next chapter. You know what makes your kids tick, and what they'll enjoy more than the continued grind--sometimes we need to let the schedule fall by the wayside just a bit so that we remember that learning can be, and is, fun!

5.    PLAN YOUR END-OF-THE-YEAR TREAT

This is key, for me. I desperately need things to look forward to--book ends to seasons. Justice has a May birthday, and I always know his party is our last hoorah during the school year before we can just sink into summer. This year, my son has chosen a Davy Crockett theme, which I am totally stoked about! (Last year was The Hobbit.) Having a big (educational!) themed event gets us all excited about digging into both the subject (we'll look at the broader theme of frontiersmen, manifest destiny, and American expansion) and the practical skills of party prep and hosting! In addition to this, I have plans to have a date-picnic-and-hike with my husband once school is out and we can find somewhere for the kids to go for a day (I have come into possession of an awesome date-picnic basket and I am absolutely DYING to try it out!). We usually have a vacation planned, too (even if it's just something quick and small!) but this year, we're doing a massive campout with our Trail Life/AHG troop families, so that's another fun adventure we're looking forward to!

Spring is here, and summer isn't far behind--and that longing for sunny days ahead puts me in mind of the prophecy Mr. Beaver said in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: 

Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight.
At the sound of his roar, sorrow will be no more.
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death;
When he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.